Popkanon, RarriQUESO, Jack Flash – More to Give
Popkanon, RarriQUESO and Jack Flash's 'More to Give' is an uplifting slice of Scandinavian-flavoured pop, euphoric and hook-driven, a feel-good anthem built for repeat plays
'More to Give' opens with a car radio sounding intro, but then it bursts into a lovely, bouncy pop arrangement. The track asks whether we have anything left to offer when life gets hard, and answers with a full-throated yes. Synth textures layer in as the song grows, each element pushing the energy higher. There's a real Avicii influence here, that same sense of release when the drop hits. T1he production stays spacious in the verses, and I love the string flourishes here. You can hear the Kygo DNA in those warm, shimmering textures, and that chorus? It lands exactly where it should. Brilliant pop, uplifting and infectious.
Popkanon is a songwriting trio split between Asker, Norway and Chicago, and 'More to Give' marks their 22nd release. Latin artist RarriQUESO added an extra verse and reworked melodies, while Jack Flash handled synths and mixing at Chicago's Rockwell Studio. It's a proper team effort, and you can hear the chemistry. We're really glad to have them on the blog, and this one deserves to land on a lot of playlists this autumn. Great track.
Layla Mai Knight – More Than Love
Layla Mai Knight's 'More Than Love' is a gorgeous folk pop gem, a barefoot acoustic spin through the open fields
'More Than Love' opens with warmth. Layla Mai Knight's voice sits right at the front, honest and patient, carrying lyrics about the journey of truly knowing yourself and what it means to love deeply. That really is what life's about isn't it? The folk pop instrumentation gives everything room to breathe: acoustic textures, a gentle pulse underneath, and just enough lift to make the whole thing feel like sunlight breaking through. There's a freedom here, the vocal shines, and I love the sense of release that builds here. And that chorus? It soars. Beautiful folk pop, tender and stunning.
Layla Mai Knight is a London-based artist working across soul, folk and pop, and her songwriting draws on real emotions with a focus on female empowerment and self-belief. Her earlier single 'I Know My Worth' was a statement of exactly that, and 'More Than Love' continues the thread. She graduated from music university but learned her craft the hard way: Camden pubs, central London stages, building connections with creatives around her. It shows. This is lovely.
sheldon mashugana – monster mash
Sheldon Mashugana's 'Monster Mash' is an irresistible take on the Halloween classic, a gleefully absurd soft rock singalong that leans hard into the fun and delivers a grin
There's something wonderfully silly about hearing 'Mashugana' woven into that familiar chorus. Sheldon Mashugana's cover of Bobby Pickett's 1962 Halloween staple doesn't try to reinvent the graveyard smash, it just throws an arm around it and joins the party. The karaoke backing track keeps things light, and the vocal sits right in the sweet spot between camp and charm. It's a novelty cover, sure, but one that knows exactly what it's doing and commits to the bit completely. Fun soft rock pop, goofy and entirely winning.
Sheldon Mashugana is the comedic alter ego of Dallas-based performer Dean Morgan, a multi-talented creator with 18 slapstick comedy films on YouTube and a growing musical catalogue recorded at Justin Pierce Music studio. There's a clear mission here: make people smile. Morgan has TV appearances lined up in Santa Fe through October and November, and this Halloween single fits the brand perfectly. A treat for the spooky season, and bags of fun.
Adam Wedd – soar
Adam Wedd's 'soar' is a devastating piano ballad from London, a tribute song that finds grace in grief and lands with real emotional weight
A piano, a late-night studio, and a memory. That's where 'soar' begins. Adam Wedd's tribute to his friend Peter Holmes is built from the details of a friendship: travels to Uganda, rehearsals in a borrowed church, the rhythms of knowing someone well. The vocal is a real moment, sitting right against the keys, and the lyric asks what actually matters when everything else falls away. The answer is love, connection, the people who stay. There's a cinematic sweep to the arrangement as it builds, but the restraint is what makes it land. Really cool artwork too. Beautiful contemporary pop, tender and unguarded.
Adam Wedd is a London artist who plays guitar, piano, sings, and produces, back with us again after 'here we go AGAIN' in the spring. He draws from Weezer, Frank Turner, Blink 182, and the single sits on his debut album 'Hangover Full of Memories', a record that moves through piano ballads, protest songs, punk and folk. This guy's great, and it's great to see a different side of him with 'Soar'.
QUINTESSE feat. KARL JOSEF – On my way
QUINTESSE feat. KARL Josef's 'On my way' is a warm pop-rock single from Germany, a song about being underestimated that builds toward something properly uplifting
'On my way' starts mellow and earns its big finish. Felix Karl Josef's baritone sits low and steady in the verse, carrying the weight of doubt before the whole thing opens up. The song was written for his sister Victoria, a track about pushing through when nobody believes you will, and that journey from restraint to release is right there in the arrangement. Guitar and saxophone weave through each other, building slowly, never rushing the emotional payoff. The climax lands because the song earns it. Lovely, direct pop-rock, vulnerable and unforced.
QUINTESSE feat. KARL JOSEF is a mother-and-son project from Munster/Örtze, Germany: songwriter Claudia Heinrich-Witzenthaler and 21-year-old vocalist Felix, who brings years of choir experience and a natural warmth to his first professional recording. The track was cut at Neptune Studio in Hamburg, and you can hear the care in the production, built around Felix's voice rather than polished over it. He is studying engineering and making music on the side, and there is something refreshing about that. A lovely debut, and we're keen to hear more.